PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 29, 2014 – State Sen. Christine M. Tartaglione today applauded President Barack Obama for his decision to use his executive powers to increase the minimum wage to $10.10/hour for new federal contract workers.
She urged Pennsylvania’s legislature and Gov. Tom Corbett to similarly act to raise the state’s base hourly rate, as well as the tipped hourly minimum.
“We need decisive leadership on the minimum wage. It is why I have been working non-stop to raise the base hourly rate in Pennsylvania to a level that lifts our hard-working men and women out of poverty and into a more self-sustaining quality of life,” Tartaglione said.
“The president’s decision to lift the minimum for new federal contract workers is great news and his actions must be replicated now. Other states, including our neighboring Ohio, New York and New Jersey, have already increased their minimum wage rates for 2014.
“Better yet, New Jersey and Ohio have tied future increases to the rise or fall of the Consumer Price Index, which removes the political opposition to this most basic of social safety net provisions,” she said.
Tartaglione’s Senate Bill 858 would raise Pennsylvania’s minimum wage from $7.25/hour to $9/hour by 2015.
“Unfortunately, my bill has been before lawmakers for too long and I think it should be amended to raise Pennsylvania’s minimum to at least $10 an hour,” the senator said today. “I also believe future minimum wage increases should be tied to the Consumer Price Index.”
Tartaglione has also crafted legislation, Senate Bill 1099, to increase the minimum hourly rate for tipped employees to 70 percent of the regular minimum wage. The tipped minimum has been stuck at $2.83/hour since 1999.
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